The Andriy Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv is a national art museum, one of Ukraine’s most prominent treasuries of monuments of national culture and art. It is located in Lviv: the main building is located at 20 Svobody Avenue, the second building is located at 42 Dragomanova Street (Dunikovsky Palace).
Founded in 1905 by Greek Catholic Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky as a private foundation, in 1913 it was donated to the Ukrainian people by a solemn act.
The museum’s holdings include more than 150 thousand items, representing the centuries-old traditions of Ukrainian national culture.
The museum is especially proud of the largest and most complete collection of medieval Ukrainian sacral art of XII-XVIII centuries in Ukraine. These are icons, sculpture, manuscripts and old printed books, decorative carvings, metalwork and embroidered church fabrics. The most multifaceted in the museum’s collection are the icons of the XIV-XVIII centuries, mostly from the territory of Western Ukraine.
The epochs of the Ukrainian Renaissance and Baroque are represented in the work of Ivan Rutkovych (Zholkov iconostasis of the 17th century) and Iov Kondzelevych (Bogorodchany iconostasis, 1698-1703).
Valuable sights of written culture are concentrated in the collection of manuscripts and old printed books, the formation of which began since the founding of the museum. The basis of the collection was laid by the samples donated by Metropolitan A. Sheptytsky, and its replenishment on a scientific basis was continued by Professor I. Sventsitsky. The collection was enriched by gifts of cultural and educational figures, clergymen, as well as treasures from the collections of the Stavropigic Institute, Lviv Greek Catholic Metropolitanate and Chapter, «Prosvita» Society, NOSH, People’s House, Theological Scientific Society, the library of Fr. Vassilian, given to the museum. Vassilian, transferred to the museum after 1939.
At the same time in the museum’s collections there are also masterpieces of such artists of European importance as Pinzel, Polejovsky, Filevich and others. Very valuable in the collections is a selection of Ukrainian folk and professional engravings of the XVII-XVIII centuries (about 1000 units).
The development of Ukrainian art of the XIX — early XX centuries is represented by a collection of paintings by artists of the Dnieper and Western Ukraine.
The pride of the museum collection is a number of original works by Taras Shevchenko.
In the collection of works of XIX — early twentieth century. — The heritage of the classics of Ukrainian fine arts K.Ustyanovich, T.Kopistynsky, S.Vasylkovsky, F.Krasitsky, A.Manastyrsky, I.Trush, O.Kulchytska, as well as the works of artists whose names were long erased from the spiritual treasury of the Ukrainian people — M.Boychuk, M.Sosenko, L.Gets, P.Kholodny.
The collections of folk art, which were formed in the early years of the museum’s existence, deserve special attention. Today they number more than 20 thousand units and represent all typological varieties and genres of folk art, occupying the period of XVII-XXX centuries. These are items made of ceramics, bone, metal, fabric, embroidery, wood carving, folk clothing, pysanky, embroidery, glass painting.
The best works from the museum collections are presented to the attention of art fans in the permanent exhibitions:
«Ancient Ukrainian Art»
«Art of XIX — early XX centuries»
«Ukrainian Art of the XX century»
«Folk Art»
In addition to permanent exhibitions, the museum also hosts temporary exhibitions.